


Roar

by delicatelyglitterywriter



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bus Kids - Freeform, FitzSimmons if you squint, Mrs Fitz is the actual best, Multi, bad girl shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 04:59:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9163087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delicatelyglitterywriter/pseuds/delicatelyglitterywriter
Summary: When Fitz’s mum is hospitalised and he has to back out of a trip that he organised with Daisy and Jemma, who have never met each other. But he was sure they’d get along just fine. A phone call at 9:30 at night reveals that they are getting along, but perhaps a littletoowell.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BookedbyFandoms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookedbyFandoms/gifts).



> **Prompted by BookedByFandoms:** “Our mutual friend dropped out of this trip at the last minute, so hi i guess we’re spending the next two weeks together” AU

Okay, so it _had_  been his idea to introduce Jemma to his friend, Daisy. 

It had been a nice idea at the time: take that holiday they both desperately needed, and catch up with an old friend, or in Jemma’s case, make a new one.

Yes, Jemma had been skeptical at first, pegging this ‘old friend’ as an ‘old flame’. It had taken about two hours of convincing and pleading, but Jemma had let the notion go and agree to meet her. 

It had been such a perfect plan. Except for the part where his mum had been rushed to the hospital and so he’d had to back out. 

But he’d still insisted that Jemma go. After all, she’d actually been getting excited about the trip; it wasn’t fair that she should have to miss out because of him. Plus, Fitz was eager for her to meet his friend. 

So, she’d gone. He wasn’t overly worried about them. He knew that that they’d get along, perhaps for his sake if nothing else. But he hoped that they’d genuinely like each other.

Now, driving along the empty road exempt of his car, from Boston to Baltimore, he questioned whether or not it had been the best decision. At the time, he’d thought nothing of their professions: a scientist and a hacktivist. Two seemingly incompatible jobs. What trouble could they possibly get into? 

The answer: apparently enough to get them arrested. 

* * *

 

**_Two weeks ago,  
Hotel somewhere in Baltimore:_ **

“Hey! Where’s Fitz?”

The words were out of Fitz’s friend’s mouth before Jemma had even made it fully through the door. 

“He couldn’t make it,” Jemma answered, letting out a small grunt as she hauled her bags through the door. “His mum had a stroke last night so he opted to stay in the hospital with her.”

“That’s too bad,” Fitz’s friend said sympathetically as Jemma dumped her bags on the floor next to her bed. “I hope she recovers.”

“Yeah, me too,” Jemma plopped down on the bed. “I’m Jemma, by the way.”

“I know,” Fitz’s friend offered a lopsided smile, “He talks about you _all the time_.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You’d think the dude was in love with you or something.” Fitz’s friend let out a laugh and Jemma laughed along, although there was no denying the skipped heartbeat.

“I’m Daisy, by the way,” Fitz’s friend introduced. Jemma smiled.

“That’s a nice name. Like the flower.”

“Yeah.” There was a pause before, “Do you like churros, Jemma?”

“Occasionally. Why?”

“Nothing, just saw that there’s a churro place not far from here. Wanna go get some?”

* * *

 

_**One hour ago,  
Boston Medical Centre:** _

Fitz jumped slightly at the vibration in his pocket, but then hurried to answer it when he realised it was just his phone. He furrowed his brow when the caller ID appeared unfamiliar, but he answered anyway.

“Hello?”

“Fitz! Hi!” Jemma answered. Her voice was overly chirpy, and a bit afraid.

“Jemma? What’s going on?” his heart leapt to his throat, “are you alright? Did something happen?”

“Well, um, Daisy and I may or may not have gotten ourselves arrested…”

“You _what?”_ Fitz shouted, earning him a few dirty looks from other people in the waiting room. He held up a hand in apology. He lowered his voice before speaking again. “How the _hell_  did you manage to do that?” 

On the other end, Jemma sighed. “It’s kind of a long story, Fitz. And, look, I know your mum is there and everything and that it’s incredibly selfish of me to ask, but do you think you could please come and get us?” 

Fitz let out a long breath, bouncing his leg. “Where exactly are you?”

“Baltimore Police County Precinct 12.” 

Fitz sighed. “Don’t get yourself into any more trouble than you’re already in. See you soon, Jemma.”

He hung up before she had a chance to respond and got up to see his mum before he took off. His mother’s nurse gladly took him to her room, and his heart leapt to his throat when he saw his mother waving her right arm around wildly to the classical music playing.

“Mum, stop!” Fitz said, grabbing his mum’s arm and pulling it back down. “You’re going to hurt yourself!”

“Please, Leo! When have I _ever_  hurt myself?” she asked, mischievousness sparkling in her eyes. Fitz glared at her.

“Don’t even get me started,” he grumbled. His mum laughed.

“Oh, Leo, I’m just teasing! Now, tell me, what brings you to my room so late at night, when you should be asleep?”

“…it’s only nine thirty, mum.”

“That’s no excuse! You’re a growing boy! You need your rest!”

“Mum!” Fitz whined. “I’m twenty-five!”

“No more than a seedling!” his mother argued back, although she was smiling. Fitz sighed and let it go (had he not, the argument would have gone on all night).

"I have to go to Baltimore. Jemma and Daisy have managed to get themselves arrested.”

At this, his mum let out a hearty laugh. “I always knew those two would make a troublesome pair! Tell me, Leo, what made you think it was a good idea to leave those two together?”

“Because I thought that you were more important,” Fitz said with such conviction that all the light-heartedness of the conversation was immediately sucked out of the room. His mother’s cheerful smile turned into one of affection and she placed her hand on her son’s. He looked at her and though no words were spoken, non had to be spoken.

“Go get them, Leo,” she said finally, her voice soft. He hesitated. “Leo, don’t worry about me. There are good people taking care of me, and the worst is over.”

“You’ll still be here when I get back?”

“I promise.”

* * *

 

_**Present time,  
Baltimore Police County, Precinct 12** _

Jemma marvelled at how quickly friendships could be formed. Sometimes, it only took a couple of churros and a Star Wars poster. She smiled, almost giggling, thinking back on the conversation (it had been a _very_  heated conversation on whether or not the prequels should ever have been made.) 

If only it hadn’t ended in them sitting in a holding cell. 

After the churros they’d gone on bonding over clothes shopping, swinging on the swings in the park, going to the movies, a pillow and tickle fight (which Jemma won), skinny dipping at one point, and finally over breaking into an abandoned hospital. 

Usually, Jemma would have been against breaking the law for any reason whatsoever, but then Daisy appealed to her with a heart-wrenching story about how she had been searching for her parents her whole life and how she’d found out that she’d been born in the hospital she wanted to break into, shortly before being taken back to China.

So, they’d broken in. After all, Jemma had felt so bad for her and desperately wanted to help her. They’d just busted open the filing cabinet when the police arrived.

Beside her, Daisy began singing a tune in a mock-mournful tone. Jemma rolled her eyes, and buried her head in her hands. This was _not_  her idea of a fun time. 

 _Well, if you didn’t want to get arrested, you shouldn’t have broken in_ , the voice in her head reminded her. She silently growled at the voice to shut up. 

“Come on, Jemma, sing with me,” Daisy said. Jemma glared at her.

“About what?” she snapped, forcing the sudden wave of angry tears back. “About how I’m tired and hungry? About how I have a criminal record now?”

Daisy didn’t fail to notice the tears and she frowned remorsefully, dropping her head. “I’m sorry, Jemma. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this.” 

 _No, you shouldn’t have_ , Jemma thought bitterly, turning away from Daisy. The two didn’t speak again for a long while.

An hour passed. Neither of them moved.

Another hour passed. Daisy went in and out to use the bathroom.

Another hour passed. A pair of rowdy teenage boys were dragged in kicking and screaming. Daisy and Jemma paid no mind to them.

Another hour passed. By this time, five hour had passed since they’d been arrested, and by this time, Jemma’s anger had also worn off quite a bit and she was able to see the funny side.

She risked a glance over at Daisy. Daisy still had her head down, and Jemma couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty about how harsh she’d been earlier. 

“Daisy?” she asked gently. Daisy looked up at her. “Hey, um, I just wanted to say I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier. I was upset and angry, but I shouldn’t have been as harsh as I was, and for that I’m sorry.”

The tiniest smile appeared on Daisy’s face. “And I’m sorry for dragging you into all this.”

The two exchanged a long moment before Daisy spoke again, “Friends again?”

Jemma nodded, a cheeky smile making its way to her lips, and she began to sing. 

“I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath, scared to rock the boat and make a mess.” 

Daisy grinned at her and then joined. “So I sat quietly, agreed politely. I guess that I forgot I had a choice.”

“I let you push me past the breaking point,” Jemma sang, and a trio of men in the corner jumped in, backing them up. “I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything.”

“You held me down, but I got up,” they sang together. “Already brushing off the dust. You hear my voice, you hear that sound, like thunder gonna shake your ground. You held me down but I got up, get ready ‘coz I’ve had enough, I see it all, I see it now.”

As they reached the chorus, the girls jumped up and began dancing around while they were singing. The trio in the corner (who they had quickly pegged as an a capella) group continued to back them up all through the song. 

During the last chorus, they sang at the top of their lungs, ignoring all the stares from the other people in the holding cell and the police outside. After they’d sung the last note, they plopped in unison down on a bench next to each other, giggling.

“Hey, thanks for backing us up,” Daisy said to the trio in the corner once she’d caught her breath. They offered smiles, little salutes and nods. She then turned to Jemma. “That was fun.”

“Yeah,” Jemma agreed, and then they went on to laugh and chat with each other like they had on the first day. They were interrupted by a police officer calling them up.

“Your friend’s here,” he said gruffly, motioning for them to come. They did so, quietly although they were both still smiling widely. When they made it through the precinct to the lobby, they were greeted by a scowling Fitz. 

“Fitz!” they greeted in unison. He shook his head and turned on his heel, and they followed without question out to the car. They climbed into the back seat and they drove back to the hotel in silence, giving Jemma and Daisy time to come down from their high.

When they were inside, Jemma was the first to try. “Fitz, look-”

“Don’t Jemma,” he said coldly, making quick work of setting himself up for a few hours’ sleep. Jemma dejectedly sank into her bed, knowing better than to keep trying. 

“Come on Fitz,” Daisy said after a minute. “Don’t get mad at Jemma; it was _my_ fault that we got arrested.”

He glared at her. “So you’re the one I’ll be blaming if mum’s not there when we get back.”

“Fitz, it’s only a night! She’ll be _fine_.”

“ _You weren’t there, Daisy!_ ” he shouted. “You don’t know what it’s like to see your mother _dying_. You probably never will.”

That was a sore spot and Fitz knew it. Daisy squared her jaw, clenching and unclenching her fists. Fitz just glared at her and then stormed past her out of the room. After the door slammed, Daisy sunk down onto her bed and buried her face in her hands. Her body shook silently and Jemma carefully sat up and gently put a hand on her back, then slowly slid it across until she was close enough to pull Daisy in for a hug.

“Shh, he didn’t really mean those things,” she whispered. “He’s just worried.”

Daisy nodded, but Jemma could tell she wasn’t convinced. So Jemma just held her.

They must have fallen asleep because the next thing they knew, the sun was up and Fitz’s bedsheets were all messed up. The two weren’t hugging each other anymore, but they were still both on (in?) Daisy’s bed. It was hard to tell with it was. The covers were partly pulled up over them, but partly not. 

“Wassatime?” Daisy asked, her voice slurred from exhaustion. Jemma turned her head enough to see the clock.

“Ten past eight. We should probably get up.”

“Mmm,” Daisy murmured sleepily. She whined when Jemma tried to get up to have breakfast. “Noooo you’re so nice and warm…”

“Daisy,” Jemma giggled. “I have to have breakfast.”

“Nooo,” Daisy protested sleepily, locking her arm around Jemma’s waist and keeping her in place. Jemma giggled, squirming and trying to pull herself from Daisy’s grip. Daisy soon started giggling too, especially when Jemma resorted to tickling. 

The two rolled all over the bed, laughing and tickling and squirming, until they both suddenly let out screams as they fell off, landing roughly on the floor. They began laughing again when Fitz entered. He stood over them, and they just looked blankly at him.

"Jemma,” he said with a completely straight face, “is there something you need to tell me?”

It took a few seconds for Jemma to spot the twinkle in his eye and realise what he meant. 

“Hey!” She flung her arm at him, but he dodged it. She jumped up off the floor. “It’s not like that, and you know it!”

"Is that so?” Fitz couldn’t keep a smile from breaking across his face. Jemma tried to scowl at him, but she was really just trying not to smile.

Daisy looked between the two of them, trying to figure out what was going on, and when she figured it out she let out a slow “oh” of recognition. Then she grinned. 

“Hey, Jemma.” Jemma looked over, and she discreetly wiggled her fingers. Jemma grinned at her and nodded. Fitz raised his eyebrows, but they surprised him by tackling him to the bed and mercilessly tickling him. He laughed and squirmed, trying to push them off but to no avail.

“S-S-Stop, I s-s-surrender! M-Mon-k-key!” he squealed out between laughs. The girls stopped and sat back. Fitz then pushed himself up, rubbing his tummy. They smiled for a few seconds longer before Fitz’s smile dropped and he looked down.

"Daisy, uh, those things I said last night, I didn’t mean them,” he said. “And I’m sorry.”

Daisy nodded and put a soft hand on his shoulder. “I know. I’m sorry, too, for pulling you away from your mother.”

He nodded and then a half minute of silence followed before Fitz spoke again. 

“Alright, breakfast, then loading things into the car. We have to be out of here by ten.”


End file.
